2008 GMC Sierra Buildup - Subtle Sierra

Fantastic Four

One last step before the wheels were bolted on: The rear brakes have these copper clips to hold them on during assembly. Factory wheels have a recess to accommodate them, but aftermarket wheels don't. We removed them to assure that the wheels bolted down to a flat surface.

One last step before the wheels were bolted on: The rear brakes have these copper clips to

Here's how we got our wheels from DiscountTireDirect.com. They were mounted and balanced and came with TPMS sensors installed. They even included a set of wheel locks, with each lug nut serving as a lock.

Here's how we got our wheels from DiscountTireDirect.com. They were mounted and balanced a

Here's the combo after being unwrapped: 20x9-inch Liquid Metal Lithium 6 wheels and 265/50R20 Nitto NT420 tires. We went with a slightly smaller tire than factory to get a little lower and make the truck look aggressive. The overall width was virtually identical to factory, and the offset put the tires flush with the fenders.

From The Driver SeatThe tire-bed gap at the rear of the truck was pretty large on the new truck, and the McGaughy's 2/4 drop put an end to that. Ride quality decreased initially, as the rear suspension only had about an inch before the truck was riding on the bumpstops. The factory bumpstops are a dense foam, and are about four inches long, so we trimmed an inch off the bottom to give more room for the suspension to cycle. There's still a large margin of safety, as there's no way the tires are going to rub with three inches of bumpstop left. We could have gone with a much shorter polyurethane bumpstop, and that's still an option in the future. Our chosen wheel and tire package complements the chrome bumper, grille, and emblems better than the factory machined aluminum, and the Nitto NT420S performance tires add some much-appreciated grip. The installed Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors (TPMS) needed to be synced with the truck through a process of releasing and adding pressure, or you can have your dealer do the same. Our favorite part of the install was the sound of the 5.3L V-8 after the True Flow intake and MBRP exhaust. We drove with just the intake installed for a day and really liked the added rumble that kicked in at about 1,900-rpm under load, and at any rpm under WOT. When the truck was at part throttle, like when maintaining speed on the highway, the truck seemed as quiet as ever. Bolting on the MBRP exhaust only added to the great sounds, but it was noticeable at idle while outside the truck. Inside the truck at cruising speeds, the truck sounded quiet and tame, but mash on the throttle and the intake and exhaust let the V-8 be heard.